Blackwater Successor Settles Two Wrongful Death Cases by Civilians and Contractors Killed in Iraq

Family members of Iraqi civilians killed by Blackwater security contractors in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in 2007 have agreed to a settlement offered by Academi, Blackwater’s successor (also recently known as Xe Services).  [Washington Post] On September 16, 2007, Blackwater employees guarding U.S. diplomats opened fire into a crowd, killing seventeen Iraqi civilians in what was alleged by prosecutors to be

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Two Suits Against Corporations for Violations of International Law Proceed in U.S. Federal Court

Eleven Falun Gong practitioners have filed suit against computer networking company Cisco Systems for allegedly facilitating human rights abuses by the Chinese government against Falun Gong members,  by developing and providing Internet surveillance technology known as Golden Shield or Policenet. [Wall Street Pit]   The suit, filed by the Human Rights Law Foundation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern

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UK Reviews Anti-Terrorism Measures; Recommends Less Restrictive Version of Control Orders

The United Kingdom’s Home Office has published its Review of Counter-Terrorism and Security Powers: Review Findings and Recommendations, an analysis of British counter-terrorism measures – including pre-charge detention, control orders, deportation of foreign nations, stop and search, and surveillance – in light of the country’s Human Rights Act and obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. [UK Human Rights

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Following Return from Exile, Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Facing Criminal and Civil Liability for Fraud and Human Rights Abuses

Following the unexpected return of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”) Duvalier to Port-au-Prince earlier this month after 25 years in exile, the former President for Life is facing criminal prosecution on fraud charges and several civil suits alleging human rights abuses and crimes against humanity, committed during his 15-year rule. [Democracy Now!; Guardian]  Calls for Duvalier’s prosecution came as soon as

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News Clips – October 25, 2010

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights begins holding hearings today in its 140th Period of Sessions.  Issues to be discussed today include the Situation of Environmentalists in Mesoamerica, and Discrimination against the Transsexual, Transgender, and Transvestite Population in Brazil.  See the week’s schedule of hearings here.  Webcast of some hearings is available here. The role of humanitarian aid in contributing

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News Clips – October 3, 2010

In Ecuador, a state of emergency remains in place following last week’s uprising of members of the military against President Correa’s government, prompting human rights defenders to call for a quick restoration of full civil liberties. [CEJIL] The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned the attack against Correa. [IACHR] Germany today commemorates 20 years of reunification and will use its

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U.S. Court Rules Corporations Cannot be Held Civilly Liable for Torture and Other Violations of International Law under ATCA

Last Friday’s Second Circuit ruling in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, if upheld, could be the death knell for litigation seeking to hold corporations accountable for torture and other violations of customary international law under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The plaintiffs, Nigerian nationals, brought suit against Royal Dutch and Shell Petroleum for aiding and abetting the Nigerian government in

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News Clips – September 20, 2010

In a heartbreaking blow to Afghan hopes for peace, several U.S. soldiers are under investigation for murdering at least three Afghan civilians last year as part of a rogue “kill team” that was allegedly formed when a staff sergeant who had served in Iraq in 2004 joined the platoon stationed in Kandahar province. [Washington Post] The French Senate has approved

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Ninth Circuit Dismisses Rendition Lawsuit against Boeing Subsidiary, Granting Government’s Invocation of State Secrets Privilege

On September 8, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a civil suit filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act by five extraordinary rendition victims against a Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen DataPlan, Inc. for its role in their rendition.  [Amnesty International USA ; ACLU]  The federal government intervened in the suit, arguing that

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